Hello September: Play Day and early goal setting

Welcome back everyone! It’s hard to believe it’s September again. My name is Annette and I’m excited to be a returning contributor to the Life@UofT blog this year. I’ll be continuing to cover all things physical activity and fitness with a weekly post you can expect to be published every Friday. If you’re new to the blog, hello and welcome! If you like what you find, you can check out the archive to catch up on all the fun we had last year. A bit about me: I’m a fourth-year student double majoring in Physiology and Biochemistry and minoring in German Studies. I’m absolutely wired right now on account of impending doom (read as: LSAT), but I’m doing my best to be excited about all that will follow for the rest of the year. I’m a peculiar person – half of the time I’m a bit of a grandma who likes to go to sleep early and sleep lots, drink tea under a fuzzy blanket – that sort of thing. The other half of the time, however, I’m curtain climbing and training to be a ninja – I just don’t know an in between.

September is a big month, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that. Between moving in and out of apartments/residences, shopping for textbooks, starting classes and trying to override a very “Hakuna Matata” lifestyle and/or sleep pattern, there’s a LOT going on. You should see my calendar, it’s absolutely BONKERS. Having said that, it only really gets more hectic, doesn’t it? Personally, I’m making sure not to let September get away from me without considering my goals for the year and taking some first steps toward them. I find it’s much harder to take something on once September ends and everything’s piled up a little. If I’ve made it part of my routine early on, it’s so much easier to handle. I’d love to hear what your goals are this year (the comments section is calling your name!). As always, your MoveU team hopes that staying active will be one of those goals and will be running all kinds of awesome programming this year to support you in reaching it. Last week, MoveU hosted their annual Play Day on the back campus field!   This was my first time attending Play Day and honestly, I’ve been missing out. The event felt very laid-back and allowed students to engage as much as they were comfortable with – be that a lot or a little. (perfect for the situational introvert like me!). Activities were spread across the field and you were welcome to come by and explore, coming and going as needed.  The MoveU team pulled out all the stops with giant Jenga, Nerf archery, bubble soccer, Naginata, yoga and more! I had the pleasure of chatting with Mary Kate, U of T alumnus, who volunteered her time to share Naginata with students at the event. Did you know Naginata is the most inexpensive martial art you can practice on campus? While that’s already a great motivator, I asked Mary Kate what drew her to the martial art. It turns out, in Naginata, most of the “masters” (senior instructors) are female – which is quite uncommon in martial arts and (I think) is very awesome to hear.

If Naginata sounds like something you might enjoy, you can check out the club’s website or contact uoftnaginata@gmail.com. If not, don’t overlook the countless other ways to get your blood pumping and muscles working on campus. Registration for classes at the Athletic Centre and Hart House is now open! Personally, I’m excited to be improving my ice skating skills this term! I’ve registered for Skating Level I at Varsity Centre, which I’ll be starting next week. I’ve always envied the ease with which my friends skate, so I’m really looking forward to learning something beyond how to move in a relatively straight line. I’ll be sure to keep you all posted with embarrassing anecdotes, I have no doubt it’ll – as always – be harder than it looks. Challenge accepted.